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Page from the Koran

Description

This page is one side of a double-sided sheet from a copy of the Koran, a collection of revelations to the Prophet Mohammed that forms the basis of the Islamic religion. Information within the book indicates that the scribe worked on it for 22 years and completed it in 1207 A.D. The black letters are in Arabic and the smaller red letters are in Persian. The book was found in Tehran, Iran, in 1952, and this sheet was donated to the Smithsonian Institution from the Biblical Library of Stanley S. Slotkin.

In the Islamic tradition, representations of human or animal figures are discouraged, resulting in a fluid calligraphic style often incorporating geometric and floral designs.

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